The provisional patent application (PPA) is a simple,
inexpensive strategy for preserving your rights while you decide whether to
file for a regular patent. If you want a patent, you will have to file a
regular application within a year after you file your PPA. You won’t
automatically lose patent rights if you fail to file a regular patent
application within a year after you file the provisional application. But you
will lose the benefits of the PPA -- the earlier filing date and the right to
claim “patent pending” status..

Keep in mind that the inventor who relies on a PPA gets the
full 20-year term from the date the regular application is filed. The PPA need
contain only a portion of the information presently required in a patent
application specification—a complete description of the invention (structure
and operation) and any drawings that are necessary to understand the
description. The PPA need not include claims, formal drawings, a Patent Application
Declaration, or an Information Disclosure Statement.

Get Started With Your Provisional

Here some information and resources to help you get started with your provisional patent application.